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Japanese Gepetto

August 2004

They call him Ningyo Ken. 70-year-old Kenji Tada, who's been hand-carving and handling the famous ningyo puppets of Awa for forty years now. I met him just today on an excursion around some of the cultural sights of Tokushima city with the new local JETs and a few extra odd bodies. We took in an archaeological museum on the west side of town, the water treatment plant near the river, and stopped off for a spot of indigo dyeing before making a final trip over to the Awa Ningyo Theatre. More than seeing some old pottery, filtration systems, beautiful indigo artwork and a few cleverly crafted dolls, today's excursion was fantastic for meeting some fascinating people - and none were more fascinating than old Ken.

I was in a bit of a spot today, because apparently my quite average bilingual skills were the best of the crowd and I was therefore given translation duties. I think I filled the gaps adequately and made sure people's questions were answered, but especially with Ken, a lot of it was over my head. His expressiveness as a theatre artist provided a lot of information that I couldn't garner from his speech, thankfully. He talked about the process of carving a doll's head from a block of cyprus wood, about the shapes of noses, ears, brows and chins, about the aspects of a face that were considered sensual in times past, how masculine and feminine characters differ, about the materials used, and about the time it takes to master his art. The theatre was lined with puppets, all made by Ken, and he showed a few off, joking about the angry devilish aspect of a female puppet ("My wife!") and the reaction he gets from kindergarten children when the front half of a samurai's face falls off in a sword fight. He's quite an amazing character, a veritable Japanese Gepetto, as one of the new JETs put it, and shaking hands with a man like Ken is like meeting a Tokushima legend come to life. In a way I haven't had much chance to do all summer, I definitely had a good time today.

Which isn't to say I haven't had a good summer - it's just been go, go, go the whole time! I'm only just now getting a chance to settle properly into my new home in Tokushima city and catch my breath before I start work next week. The story of this madhouse summer starts properly in mid-July, when I had to drop everything and get on a plane to England to say farewell to my grandmother.

Granny had been ill for some time before she passed away, but it was still a little difficult to believe she was really gone. Dad flew in from Australia, I made the trip from Japan, and we were met by my Dad's brother in London. On the day of the service we were heartened by the number of people who made the effort to be there, and it was indeed a beautiful service at the tiny local church where Granny had wed her late husband. For all the sadness of the occasion, I was glad to have the chance to meet many family and friends at the reception afterwards. Of course, most importantly, it was good to spend time with my uncle and Dad, albeit just a few days before I had to get back on a plane to Japan to pick up where I left off.

What I had left behind in Japan were preparations for the JET Programme Tokyo Orientation, and all the business of packing up and leaving Iya. In both cases, it was only possible for me to go to England because of all the capable, thoughtful people on my AJET committee and in Nishiiya who went out of their way to support me and get the job done. No sooner had I arrived back in Iya than I had to back up for more goodbyes - first to all my elementary schools, three in one day, and then to my junior high school the next Tuesday July 20.

I think I was too tired for tears at shougaku, and I hadn't prepared any special speeches, just a fun final lesson. But I did myself in a little at the Tuesday ceremony at the chuugaku. I wrote a speech in a mixture of simple English and, where necessary to communicate something I wanted to be sure the students understood, Japanese. Having taught them all for three years, I recalled a brief warm memory for each of my 29 students in turn. Then I tried to say all the thanks I thought were needed, but, well, suffice to say that I'm not sure that every word was comprehensible while I was wiping away my tears. Not exactly the most manly way to make an exit, but there it was for me, the end of three years with a bunch of great people. The bit I did manage to make comprehensible was that one-third of my heart wanted to stay in Iya, that another third wanted to go home to Australia, and that the last third wanted to see the world. Therefore, for now, I'm off to see the world.

First stop Tokyo on July 23 for my third JET Orientation - number one the blur of arriving in Japan, number two the simple task of helping out as staff, but this number three the more daunting task of being in charge of a significant part of the Orientation program. Like I said before, however, I had left it all in capable hands when I went to England, and I duly arrived in Tokyo knowing that the other members of the AJET team had their jobs covered, allowing me to focus on mine.

We stayed in the big city for some twelve days, covering two conferences and the break in between, and meeting nearly 3000 new JETs and assorted other officials, companies and Orientation staff. AJET's business covered a range of things from hosting workshops and info fairs to selling publications, but the only thing that was really my job was to get up in front of 1500 jet-lagged people each week and try to excite them about AJET and the JET Programme. I got some good feedback on the speeches, which was nice, and made myself useful around the place at other times with meetings and signing people up. I think we had a reasonably successful fortnight, but we're still sorting out our database and wrapping it all up.

Somewhere in the midst of the mayhem, I took a couple of hours out to trek over to the NHK campus in Shibuya for a meeting with an NHK World production team. For those of you who don't know, NHK is Japan's equivalent of Australia's own ABC - the national public broadcaster. I was asked to help out with one of their projects this summer, a live international broadcast from the Awa Odori festival in Tokushima city on August 13. When I first met Sakura, the production manager, in June, I don't think I quite realised what I was getting myself into!

Initially it was just Sakura, then I met Kawashima-san who was doing some preliminary research in Tokushima, then I met the core production team of ten people in Shibuya, and then there were the tech crews in both Tokushima and Tokyo... by the end of the broadcast, I had concluded that some 100 people must have been involved in making the 45-minute show a reality! It was quite an amazing experience. The scripting, the meetings, the setup on the day, the live broadcast, and then the after-party - from start to finish a fascinating insight into how a program like this is put together and the people who make it happen. It was difficult trying to talk and think clearly amidst the noise of Awa Odori, but everyone seemed pretty happy with the way things had gone by the time we signed off. I certainly had a good time, and I backed up by jumping straight out of the commentary box and onto the street to dance! For those of you who didn't actually see it live, don't worry, I'll be getting a video soon! In the meantime, I'm still waiting anxiously by the phone for a talent scout to call me up... :)

When I flew back into Tokushima Airport with a bunch of new JETs on August 4, rather than head straight home to rest, I got on a bus to Kobe to meet the man who was going to give me my new car. Having already left my Mini Pajero in Iya for my successor, I needed to buy a new set of wheels to get around. Thanks to a contact I made through my AJET friend Amanda, I am now the proud owner of a silver Honda Civic. I've already put over 2000 clicks on her - mostly thanks to Awa Odori practice earlier this month. It's certainly nice to be driving a bigger car with more than three gears. Now I just need to give my bank account some time to recover. :)

In the two days between returning from Tokyo and officially moving to Tokushima city, I stayed in Iya, in my quite empty apartment, and spent some time helping my successor Josef settle in. Sean, the lamp-making artist from the east end of the valley, collected a few boxes and large items for me. My small circle of local friends took Josef and I out for a combined welcome-sayonara party the night before I left. And then, on Friday August 6, I woke up, packed all my remaining worldly belongings into the Civic, and hit the road for the last time as a resident of Iya.

I crossed the bridge that spans the Iya River, flowing high and fast after the last week's typhoon. Around the corner past the new park, the mechanic shop and Hikyonoyu, where I spent so many hours lazing in hot spring water. Through the hairpin where the ninja is climbing the wall below the noodle shop. Up the steep part of the hill down which I once snowboarded, and into the Iya Tunnel. Out the other side to be greeted by a familiar sea of morning cloud, hanging stubbornly between the mountains. And then down from the clouds, past the baseball field at Nishioka, and finally over the Oboke Bridge, out of Iya and on my way to a new life in Tokushima city. It was a bit surreal, to think I'd been there for three years and was simply leaving by the same road on which I came...

Three weeks later, I'm starting to get used to city life, I guess. The apartment needs just a few more photos on the wall to look like home. I know a few shortcuts in the car, to work, to the shops, and here and there, though I wish I didn�ft have to get used to city traffic. I�fve got internet at home and I�fve found a dry cleaner. Oh, and I�fm used to the idea of living 10 seconds walk from the next foreigner, rather than 30 minutes drive. There�fs so much to adjust to, but I�fm doing okay so far and looking forward to finding a rhythm.

Speaking of rhythm, I haven't yet given due attention to the biggest event of the summer - Awa Odori! This year, I was too busy dancing to take any photos myself, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I had a fantastic five days out on the streets! It was my third Obon with Minoda-ren, and possibly my last - now that I live in the city, I'm even further away from Miyoshi-cho, and much closer to other dance teams. It's hard to imagine leaving Minoda-ren, though. Two-and-a-half years later, they're so familiar to me, like a family of sorts. I want to have the big group experience and learn some new moves, and it won't really be practical to drive to Miyoshi to dance as of next year, but I know that saying goodbye to the people who taught me how to dance will be just as hard as the goodbyes I've had to say this past month.

The rest of my recent tales I will try to tell with pictures. When I find time, I'll take some digital photos of my apartment, the car, and my local area, and you can get a feel for my new life here in Tokkers. For now, I'll finish this by updating everyone with my new contact details.

David Cowland-Cooper
#106 Kimura Mansion No. 2
3-48-1 Dekijima Honcho
Tokushima-shi, Tokushima-ken
770-0823
JAPAN

+81-88-624-2411
dave_cc@hotmail.com

I was very happy to welcome my old friend from university, Itaru, to my apartment during Awa Odori, and I hope I�fll welcome a few more mates in months to come. So if you�fre in Japan, anywhere near Osaka or Shikoku, and want to catch up or need a place to stay, please get in touch! Lots of love,

Dave